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In December 2016, the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Civil Rights Division opened an investigation under the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, 42 U.S.C. § 14141, into the patterns and practices of the Orange County District Attorney’s Office (OCDA) and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD). The investigation focused on custodial informant activity from 2007 through 2016.
The custodial informant program operated by OCDA and OCSD came to light in 2014 in the case People v. Dekraai. In the midst of the Dekraai proceedings, the Orange County District Attorney asked the United States to conduct an investigation of OCDA’s custodial informant practices. The DOJ investigation focused on: (1) whether OCDA and OCSD used custodial informants to elicit incriminating statements from individuals in the Orange County Jail, after those individuals had been charged with a crime, in violation of the Sixth Amendment; and (2) whether OCDA failed to disclose exculpatory evidence about those custodial informants to criminal defendants in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment.
The DOJ issued a findings report in October 2022, in which it found cause to believe that the operation of the custodial informant program systematically violated criminal defendants’ right to counsel under the Sixth Amendment and right to due process of law under the Fourteenth Amendment.
The DOJ and OCSD entered into a settlement agreement on January 17, 2025, under which the sheriff agreed to continue to implement measures related to the following in order to sustain ongoing reforms on custodial informant practices: (a) policies and procedures; (b) training; (c) document and information systems; and (d) audits and stakeholder engagement. As part of the agreement, the DOJ agreed to conduct an initial review covering the period from July 1, 2024, through March 1, 2025, to validate whether OCSD has achieved sustained compliance with the required reform measures. For any measure where the DOJ finds OCSD has achieved sustained compliance for at least six months, the DOJ is to mark the measure completed and that measure will not be subject to a further validation assessment. Additional validation assessments will occur quarterly, if necessary, beginning with the quarter commencing on March 2, 2025. The agreement is set to fully terminate when the all reform measures have been validated as sustained.
As of February 2025, the initial validation assessment is underway.
Summary Authors
Simran Takhar (10/22/2023)
Logan Moore (3/21/2025)
DOJ Investigation of the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, No Court (None)
Last updated Aug. 30, 2023, 1:27 p.m.
Docket sheet not available via the Clearinghouse.State / Territory:
Case Type(s):
Key Dates
Case Ongoing: Yes
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division
Plaintiff Type(s):
U.S. Dept of Justice plaintiff
Attorney Organizations:
U.S. Dept. of Justice Civil Rights Division
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
County
Orange County District Attorney’s Office
Orange County Sheriff’s Department
Defendant Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Violent Crime and Law Enforcement Act, 34 U.S.C. § 12601 (previously 42 U.S.C. § 14141)
Constitutional Clause(s):
Other Dockets:
Special Case Type(s):
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff OR Mixed
Relief Granted:
Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement
Source of Relief:
Form of Settlement:
Issues
General/Misc.:
Access to lawyers or judicial system
Case Summary of DOJ Investigation of Orange County Sheriff's Department, Civil Rights Litig. Clearinghouse, https://clearinghouse.net/case/43645/ (last updated 3/21/2025).